Response #8

TEGR 585

Response #8

Developing Vocabulary and Concepts

Vacca, pg. 241 ask the question: “What does it mean to know a word?”

• One must know the meaning of the word. 
• One must be able to recognize this word in different context.
• One must be able to apply this word in different context.
• One should be able to use this word accurately in a different context from which it was learnt.

In order to understand language, it is essential that one understand words. This knowledge is vital to our communication and comprehension.

Educators/teachers recognized that vocabulary is an important aspect of reading instruction, even though, the teaching of vocabulary is a complicated issue since there is no single approach or one clear-cut method. Vacca, states that struggling readers need both direct an indirect instruction to learn new vocabulary and concepts in order to improve their comprehension (pg. 240).  One way of involving struggling readers in the construction of word meaning is to make word meanings and relationships visible to the readers. A memory organizer can be provided through semantic feature analysis, word maps organizers or other related charts. These also provide graphical display attributes of meanings.

Vocabulary learning takes place when children are immerse in words, that is when they are read to, when they themselves read widely and when they are in involved in discussion school, home and in the broader community. When children are active in discovering way in which to relate words to experiences and to one another, this is also vocabulary learning.  Children need to be actively engaged in the construction of their own meaning.  One of the most deeply rooted way in which children can develop their vocabulary is when they learn new words through experience. Children need many experiences that will allow them to use words relevantly.

Educators/teachers should be good models of passionate and enjoyable word learning.